NJ State Trooper Indicted for drunk driving accident

Posted on Sep 22, 2011

A New Jersey State Police trooper has been indicted for charges relating to a drunk driving accident. The office has been accused of being drunk and slamming into the rear of another car on a darkened Camden County highway - then failing to correctly identify himself.

The trooper, Detective Sgt. William Billingham, was arraigned on Sept. 12, and he pleaded not guilty to a fourth-degree charge of assault by auto in the crash, which left him with six broken ribs and the other driver with an injured back.

But the victim's lawyer said that he would update a lawsuit against the trooper and the state of New Jersey with allegations of a cover-up in addition to seeking an undisclosed amount for damages.
The trooper was off-duty and driving an unmarked State Police car when he struck the back of an SUV on Route 295 in the pre-dawn hours of March 22, 2009, according to state reports. Prosecutors say he was drunk at the time.
After the incident, troopers identified Billingham by his undercover name, William Gillespie, on the accident report.